


Brand New and Reinvented

by mia kulpah (nina_monk)



Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: M/M, Mostly Fluff, Prompt Fic, Science Boyfriends, Stanner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-13
Updated: 2012-09-13
Packaged: 2017-11-14 04:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nina_monk/pseuds/mia%20kulpah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt 17 (thescienceboyfriends on tumblr): "Tony contemplates the weapons industry he fueled and his decision to leave it behind. Bruce is proud of him."</p>
<p>Bruce ponders the reinvention of an engineer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brand New and Reinvented

  
Tony’s lean legs stretched from the divan to the ottoman. He moved his left arm and Bruce snuggled close, laying his head near Tony’s chest. A low purr thrummed in Bruce’s ear and he couldn’t tell if the hum was from the arc reactor or from the back of Tony’s throat - not that it truly mattered.

  
They were both fairly mellow at this point. Tony, from the five or six whiskeys rumbling in his system and Bruce  - lightweight that he was - from the one tumbler of alcohol and the light touches from Tony’s fingers through his hair. His eyes grew heavy. The glow from both the fireplace and Tony’s chest felt inordinately good, and he really didn’t want to move.

It would take a lot for him to move.

He heard a clink of ice as Tony finished his drink and placed it on the side table. “So, DARPA called me on Thursday.”

Bruce froze and remained unnaturally still. “And?”

“Told ‘em to go fuck themselves.”

“Heh.” Bruce chuckled and twisted to glance over his shoulder. His smile dimmed at the cold look in his lover’s eyes and Bruce fleetingly wondered…well. “If it’s any consolation, I think you made the right decision.”

Tony’s lip quirked. “They pissed me off with their ‘breach of contract’ crap. So I sicced Pepper on ‘em.”

“Good.”

“Between her and the lawyers, I doubt they’ll call again.”

Bruce had to know, though, and curiosity had always been his blind spot. Swallowing, he sat up and poured a drink, but didn’t touch it. Which was far less of a tell than fidgeting with his hands. “Do you miss it?”

Tony frowned and his expression, which previously reflected a comfortable, drunken numbness, suddenly became sharp and focused. Like a falcon observing a mouse. “What?”

Bruce wet his lips. He glanced briefly at Tony before staring into the fireplace’s dancing flames. “The weapons business. Do you miss it?”

Tony jerked as if zapped by a cattle prod. “No! _Hell_ no. Whatever would give you that idea? I chucked that shit out the window after my own weapons almost killed me. Fuck, no. I don’t miss it.”

“So you don’t miss the creative chaos of it.”

Tony stared at him a beat. Bruce saw a small muscle twitch in Tony’s jaw and he briefly looked away. “I get it, Tony.”

“No, Bruce. You don’t.” Tony sat up and put his hand behind Bruce neck, gently massaging the taut muscles beneath. “I can’t help coming up with ideas, it’s what I do; I can’t turn off my brain. But don’t think for one minute that I miss the results. Don’t think—” Tony sighed and gently squeezed Bruce’s neck. “You’re not the reason I permanently left that life. Don’t be an ass, Banner - it has nothing to do with you.”

But Bruce wasn’t finished. “ _Can_ you be happy, Tony? I mean, Can you be happy with someone else picking through the threads of your ideas? Someone who takes your ideas and makes them  realities you never previously envisioned? _Can_ you be okay with it?”

Tony sighed softly and gently guided Bruce’s head against his. “In short yeah. Of course I can. I _drowned_ myself to forget what I did to people, Bruce. I knew who I was. I knew I was a ‘merchant of death’ and I hated every minute of who I was and what I did. But I loved inventing the shit. And I didn’t know - couldn’t conceive - of a way of separating the two. Not with Obi at the helm.

“I can’t say it wasn’t beautiful because the beauty was the inventing,” Tony murmured. “But the results were my ugly, harsh reality. There’s a lot I’m not proud of but at least I have the opportunity to reverse some of the damage. At least I hope I can.”

Bruce took Tony’s hand and rubbed his thumb against the other man’s knuckles. “You can. You will. And - I figured it wasn’t me, but…I wanted to be sure. I didn’t want to be the one standing in the way of your creative juices.”

Tony growled low in his throat and Bruce groaned while laughing. “You don’t even have to say it. I can already hear the sexual innuendo, so…shush.”

“Shushing now,” Tony said, but he playfully bumped Bruce’s shoulder.

“In any case I’m proud of you, Tony.” Tony opened his mouth to follow with an off-the-cuff quip but Bruce barreled on. “No, I mean it. You may not know it, but you reinvented _yourself_ , not just your industry. That’s…well. Not many can do an about face like that and survive. So yeah. I’m proud of you.”

Tony shrugged but he accepted the compliment, and for once remained respectfully silent. He picked up Bruce’s full glass, toasted him, and downed the contents. “To me, then.”

“Love you, Tones.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Wanna show me how much?”

Bruce snorted and rolled up from the couch. “Fine,” he said, holding out his hand. Tony grabbed his hand and squeezed, conveying every emotion he had trouble voicing. And as they made their way towards their bedroom, Bruce couldn’t help feeling that he had been redeemed, too.


End file.
